Cookie and Storage Technologies Policy

1. What these technologies are

Cookies are small pieces of data stored by a browser. Similar technologies include local storage, session storage, tokens, pixels, scripts and identifiers used to provide, protect or measure an online service.

2. Essential storage

Essential storage is used where reasonably necessary to provide a feature you request, protect the service or remember a privacy choice. It may include:

session and authentication storage;
CSRF and security tokens;
email-verification and password-reset state;
rate-limiting and anti-abuse state;
language, region, score-visibility and interface choices;
a record of your analytics/privacy choice; and
temporary state required for account or support forms.

Essential storage cannot be disabled through the analytics panel because the relevant feature may stop working or become insecure.

Name	Purpose	Duration
matchtide_session / XSRF-TOKEN	Security, session and submitted forms	Session
mt_analytics_choice	Versioned device analytics choice	180 days
_ga / _ga_*	Only after full analytics is allowed	Set by Google; removal attempted on withdrawal
matchtide_football_interest_region	Requested football-region preference	Until changed

MatchTide uses Google Analytics 4. The Google tag operates through Consent Mode v2 so that its behaviour reflects the analytics choice available on this device.

Where permitted by the applicable storage-and-access rules, MatchTide uses privacy-limited Google Analytics by default on public pages for the sole purpose of producing aggregate statistics about how the service is used and improving it. In this default mode analytics storage is denied, MatchTide does not set Google Analytics cookies, advertising-related consent remains denied, and the measurement is not used for advertising, cross-site tracking, personalised advertising or User-ID.

In this mode:

analytics_storage is denied;
ad_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization are denied;
analytics and advertising cookies are not read or written;
Google Ads, remarketing, Google Signals, enhanced conversions and User-ID are not used;
only allowlisted and sanitised public page-use measurement is sent; and
account, support, privacy, legal, security and token-bearing routes are excluded.

Google may still receive a cookieless network request containing technical information, consent state and a sanitised page location or event. Limited mode is not the same as no data being sent.

You can object to this analytics use free of charge at any time through Privacy Choices or the analytics notice. After you turn analytics off, MatchTide stops future Google Analytics requests on later page loads and remembers the objection using a necessary preference.

In regions where prior consent is required, MatchTide keeps Google Analytics off until you deliberately enable analytics cookies through Privacy Choices.

4. Full analytics

If you deliberately enable analytics cookies, Google Analytics may set first-party analytics cookies and measure sessions and allowlisted interactions in more detail. This optional setting remains separate from advertising, and advertising storage, advertising user data and advertising personalisation remain denied.

Full analytics remains separated from advertising. Advertising storage, advertising user data and advertising personalisation stay denied. MatchTide does not use this choice to enable Google Ads, remarketing, Google Signals, enhanced conversions or User-ID.

MatchTide does not intentionally send comment text, support messages, email addresses, names, nicknames, passwords, authentication codes, raw search text, account identifiers, legal/privacy case data or notification subscriptions to Google Analytics.

5. Google reCAPTCHA and anti-abuse tools

Registration or other abuse-sensitive forms may use Google reCAPTCHA or another anti-abuse tool. These tools may receive technical information, including IP address, browser information and interaction signals, to assess abuse.

MatchTide should load such tools only on forms that need them and, where technically practical, only when a visitor begins interacting with the form or submits it. Their use is for security and abuse prevention, not advertising.

6. Third-party content

Third-party embeds, if introduced, may use their own cookies or storage. MatchTide must use privacy-friendly or click-to-load modes where available and provide clear information before the third-party content is loaded.

7. Your choices

The privacy panel provides the following choices:

Enable analytics cookies — grants analytics storage and permits first-party Google Analytics cookies and fuller allowlisted measurement.
Turn analytics off — records your objection, blocks the Google tag on later page loads and stops future analytics events from MatchTide.
Manage choices — opens Privacy Choices with the current device status and available controls.

In the United Kingdom, if you have not yet chosen, limited cookieless measurement may run by default. In regions configured to require prior consent, Google Analytics remains blocked until analytics cookies are allowed.

You can change the choice at any time. After withdrawal, MatchTide updates the consent state and attempts to remove MatchTide-domain Google Analytics cookies. This does not delete aggregate reports created from earlier lawful processing.

8. How long choices last

The privacy-choice record is stored for a limited period so MatchTide does not ask on every page. A material change to analytics or advertising use may cause the panel to appear again.

9. No advertising analytics at present

MatchTide does not currently use advertising cookies, personalised advertising, remarketing, affiliate conversion tracking or Google Ads measurement. Advertising may not be enabled by reusing an analytics choice. It requires a separate review, updated disclosures and any consent mechanism required at that time.

10. Contact

Questions or objections about storage technologies can be submitted through Privacy Choices, the privacy form in the Support Centre or [email protected].

YouTube embedded media

MatchTide does not load the YouTube player on an ordinary match-page visit. If you choose Play on YouTube, the official embedded player is loaded and Google or YouTube may use cookies or similar technologies for playback, security, fraud prevention and player functionality under the Google Privacy Policy.

Cookies and analytics